Charting a Course
by Kalira69
Summary: Shiro coaxes Keith away from the charts and maps for the Crimson Lion's next journey to relax for a while. (Mermaid/Pirate AU. Written for Sheith Positivity Summer Week, Day 6.) (Where the Crimson Lion Calls Home series #4)


Written for Sheith Positivity Summer Week Day 6 - Relaxation/Recreation.

This one will probably be the last from me for the Summer Week - I often find 'free days' more frustrating than freeing generally, when I'm working on a set of prompts. I'll be back for Sheith Month in a few days though!

I _did_ say I was going to revisit this AU. (And again, this story was _just now_ finished and has not been edited, please excuse any mistakes.)

* * *

Pushing back a little from his desk, Keith groaned and stretched, rolling his shoulders, before reaching for another map. He unrolled it and then paused, turning to look over his shoulder.

A smile tugged at his lips. Shiro was lying with his upper body out of the water, leaning on a thick cushion squashed under his chest with a book open on the floor in front of him. His long tail stretched across the pool in the centre of the room, fins fanning lazily from time to time, their silvery tips and vanes shimmering in the lamplight.

"You should take a break, baby." Shiro said without looking up, and Keith blinked, then smiled a bit. Shiro looked over at him, and Keith shrugged. "You've been working on that course all evening," Shiro pointed out, shifting onto his right side with a lazy curl of his tail, "don't you think you've already planned for all eventualities?" he wheedled.

Keith hesitated, but Shiro had a point, and more importantly, Keith had a headache and his mind was full of painted lines and coordinates and shipping routes and his lover was right here with him, and he could think of dozens of things he'd rather be doing than re-plotting the course he planned to take in three days when the Crimson Lion left. He rolled the map up again and left it at the back of his desk, behind the three he'd already consulted and not yet put away, the open log book, and the chart he'd been scribing.

Shiro made a soft pleased sound as Keith rose from his desk, and pushed his book away before holding out his hand in welcome.

Keith smiled slightly, slipping out of his shirt and breeches before taking up Shiro's invitation, folding his legs and settling on the floor at his side. Shiro sat up and curled his arm around Keith's waist, brushing a kiss over his shoulder. Keith sighed, slouching again and leaning against Shiro's solid, warm body, closing his eyes.

Shiro took his weight and hugged him tighter, nuzzling his shoulder as he tipped his head to rest against Shiro's. He could feel his lover's heartbeat, just a little faster than it felt like it 'should' be, in a now quite familiar way.

"I do actually enjoy working out new charts," Keith said, his eyes still closed, "you know. And putting the maps together with-"

Shiro made a hushing sound, fingertips trailing over his temple. "I know." he murmured, and tugged Keith closer. He sighed and let himself be manoeuvred, lying back across Shiro's hip. His shoulders screamed as he let gravity suddenly pull them the opposite direction after bending over his desk for so long, and he winced, stiffening.

A murmur from Shiro and a gentle press against his collarbone coaxed him to slowly, consciously relax those tensed muscles, and his shoulders ached but after a few moments were feeling much less awful already. He sighed, unfolding his crossed legs and stretching them out instead, arching his back for a moment before settling comfortably.

Gentle strokes of Shiro's fingers through his hair and down his neck and shoulders made Keith purr softly, and the quiet sound of the water lapping at the edges of the pool beside him was soothing and non-intrusive.

"Hurts?" Shiro asked, fingers brushing his brow, and Keith whined softly in answer. Shiro hummed and kissed his brow instead, his muscles shifting under Keith's back.

He curled around Keith, just a little - enough to cradle him comfortably - and Shiro began carding his fingers through Keith's hair in light, almost ticklish strokes. He sighed, tipping his head up a little higher, and Shiro's hand slid down his neck with a firm, gentle stroke, pressing into the muscles of his shoulder.

Shiro started humming softly. Keith had already been on the verge of melting, and he let his lover's touch and voice coax him into drifting, not quite asleep.

He moaned or purred occasionally as Shiro's fingers kneaded an aching spot into relaxing, or smoothed over a particularly sensitive spot on their path down his body and back up. Shiro nuzzled his hair affectionately, winding his fingers in it and tilting Keith's head back a little more to curl around Keith a little more and kiss his lips.

Keith smiled against his mouth, returning the kiss but too content to move. Shiro hummed approvingly and went back to his gentle petting, and Keith settled into a warm, contented doze with the smell of the sea in his nose and his lover's voice in his ears.

* * *

Yes, there is a pool in the centre of Keith's bedroom - it's connected to the ocean under the wall, so Shiro can swim in easily whenever he likes, and he comes up to lounge in the room almost every night when Keith is at home (and sometimes when he is not). Perhaps in another story it will be mentioned in a little more detail.


End file.
